Maine Votes for Freedom

Members on the Maine State Nurses Association overwhelmingly and conclusively
voted in bylaw amendments today (April 28th) severing their affiliation to
the American Nurses Association. The smoothly run meeting, chaired by the
State of Maine’s Treasurer Dale McCormack, lasted thirty-one minutes, gavel
to gavel. The vote was 259 to 31, indicating a whopping 89.3% rejection of
ties to the reactionary ANA. A similar vote last October, influenced by
florid promises of support by ANA and heavy involvement by ANA staff
mobilizing nurse managers and retirees, produced inconclusive results. Having
been seduced and abandoned by ANA, the tide turned, with MSNA’s Board of
Directors unanimously calling for a revist of the ANA question. MSNA has been
invited to appoint representatives to ongoing deliberations with the
California Nurses Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses
and Allied Professionals and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, with the
aim of fashioning a national structure comprised of groups of nurses
committed to thwarting the corporatization of health care, with nurses
representing and organizing nurses. Thirty-four members of the Massachusetts
Nurses Association converged on Bangor High School by car, bus and plane to
stand in solidarity with their Down East colleagues. The collective
bargaining programs of the two associations have been allied in a corsortium
for the past five years, under whose auspices New Hampshire’s only private
sector nurses’ unit is organized. The Massachusetts Nurses Association is
poised to join Maine in successful pursuit of disaffiliation from ANA on
April 30th, when the American Arbitration Association tallies mail ballots
sent in by MNA members who were unable to attend the March 24th special
business meeting in historic Mechanics Hall in Worcester due to religious
obligations or work schedule. The results of this targeted ballot will be
added to the March 24th tally, in which 82.3% of MNA members present and
voting rejected continued ties to ANA. Approximately 2% of the MNA membership
thought enough of ties to ANA to go to Worcester and vote for continued
affiliation. That tally was 1925-413. -- Sandy Eaton, RN

-----------------------------

New nurses' group creates political split
<http://boston.bcentral.com/boston/stories/2001/04/23/story4.html>

by Allison Connolly, Boston Business Journal

April 20, 2001

A new trade group, the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses Inc.,
aims to become the voice for registered nurses in the Bay State -- and to
pick up an affiliation with the national American Nurses Association --
should the existing Massachusetts Nurses Association make good on its bid to
drop that affiliation.

But with two groups vying to represent the profession here, some wonder
whether the contenders will drown one another out, especially since members
of the new group once belonged to the Canton-based MNA.

"We certainly didn't want to see people leave, but we can't make them stay,"
said Julie Pinkham, executive director of the MNA. "There may be things we
can work on together and maybe not. We just hope they're not out to undermine
us."

The MARN is headed by the MNA's former president, Karen Daley, who resigned
in December. Daley's new group was incorporated one day before the MNA vote
to disaffiliate from the national association. About 82 percent of the MNA
members who showed up at the Worcester meeting on March 24 voted to
disaffiliate from the national group, but some members successfully sued the
MNA to allow nurses who didn't attend the meeting to vote by mail-in ballot.
Those ballots are to be postmarked by April 23, and will be counted April 30
by the American Arbitration Association.

The MNA's move to disaffiliate from the national association has been
rancorous, and led Daley and other senior members to resign from the state
group late last year.

"There are many nurses who value the affiliation and want to stay in it,"
Daley said. "It doesn't mean we're going to become another MNA."

MNA leaders want to leave the national organization, Pinkham said, because
they feel it no longer meets the needs of the large Bay State contingent,
which has swelled to 20,000 despite a growing nursing shortage. She said the
MNA, which also acts as a bargaining unit for most of its membership, can
make the case for nurses at the state and federal level adequately on its own.

However, Daley believes the MNA is too focused on workplace issues such as
mandatory overtime. She said other issues were being ignored, such as the
hiring of LPNs (licensed practical nurses) for positions formerly filled by
registered nurses. LPNs have less professional schooling than registered
nurses.

The split underscores a tumultuous time in the nursing profession, as members
face a growing shortage in their ranks. There are several bills pending
before the Legislature to help attract and retain nurses, but they were only
introduced because nurses have been so vocal on Beacon Hill, according to
state Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, chairman of the Health Care
Committee. He said it is not surprising to see MNA members at the State House
a couple of times a week. Moore added there always is room for more on the
hill.

"If they disagree, it will be a bit of a challenge to prove who is more
right," Moore said. "If they agree, it will be one more group of nurses
advocating the issue."

The ANA has not publicly recognized Daley's group, and still recognizes the
MNA as a member, an ANA spokeswoman said. However, the ANA is offering
financial support to the lawsuit filed against the MNA by members who oppose
the MNA's voting process on April 23.

While the ANA is spending money in the short term to help fund the suit,
Pinkham said the ANA will lose more money in the long run, as the MNA will be
taking with it about $2 million per year in dues to the national group. If
the MARN joins the ANA, it will have to pay dues based on its size.

Though the MARN does not have a membership base yet, it has pulled together a
board of directors--all of whom once belonged to the MNA--and already has met
once. Daley said she hopes to attract a diverse group of nurses, as well as
new nurses who are not already members of the MNA.

Though they acknowledge a common cause, both parties stopped short of saying
they would work together on legislative issues.

"There's been a lot of conflict over the issue, so it would be hard to say
right now," Daley said, "but I would not preclude it in the future. Nursing
cannot afford to split into different factions."

Copyright 2001 American City Business Journals Inc.

---------------------

Study links care, nurse staff levels
<http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/114/nation/Study_links_care_nurse_staff_lev

els+.shtml>

by Richard Saltus, Boston Globe

April 24, 2001

With the nation in the midst of a nursing shortage, a study has found that
differences in the number of nurses in a hospital can strongly affect the
chances of adverse outcomes such as gastrointestinal bleeding, pneumonia, and
extra days in the hospital.

Given that 30 million Americans are admitted to hospitals every year, low
staffing of nurses could be a factor in thousands of deaths annually, the
researchers said.

''It says that we've put the nail in the coffin: It's going to be awfully
hard to say we don't need to be concerned about staffing levels, or that
these are just complaining nurses,'' said Peter I. Bueurhaus (sic), a
coauthor of the report and an official at the Vanderbilt University School of
Nursing.

The project was directed by Jack Needleman, an assistant professor at the
Harvard School of Public Health, for the federal Health Resources and
Services Administration. Commissioned several years ago, the study analyzed
1997 data from more than 5 million patient discharges from 799 hospitals in
11 states.

''This study underscores why the Bush administration budget increases funding
for nurse training programs,'' said Tommy Thompson, secretary of Health and
Human Services. ''We have to take action to address the emerging nurse
shortage to protect the health and well-being of all patients.''

In sifting the massive amount of data, the researchers looked for medical
outcomes that were better or worse as a result of a higher or lower number of
nurses, or a greater or lesser ratio of registered nurses compared with
less-skilled nurses. They found links between these staffing variables and
five adverse outcomes: urinary tract infections, pneumonia, shock, upper
gastrointestinal bleeding, and length of hospital stay in medical and major
surgery patients.

Higher staffing was associated with a 3 to 12 percent reduction in certain
adverse outcomes.

David Schildmeier, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said
the study ''validates what we've been saying for years - staffing does make a
differences.'' The hospital industry, he said, has fought attempts in
Massachusetts to track staffing levels against patient outcomes.

On a typical medical or surgical floor, said Schildmeier, a ratio of 1 nurse
for every 4 or 5 patients is considered appropriate. But these days in
Massachusetts, the ratios are more like 1 nurse to 6 or 7 patients, ''and
some days, 9 or 10.''

The nurses union supports a bill that would require health care facilities to
maintain certain staffing levels, he said. California passed such a bill in
1999.

But Bueurhaus (sic), coauthor of the report, said, ''For lots of reasons,
mandating staffing levels is not a good idea. Not every nurse is equal. I
don't think [mandates] are a solution.''

This story ran on page 7 of the Boston Globe on 4/24/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.

-----------------------------

(Editor’s Note: Peter Buerhaus was employed for a number of years by a
consortium of Harvard teaching hospitals’ nursing administrators. Even with
the facts staring him in the face, his management bias shines through here in
his rejection of state-mandated minimum staffing ratios. Here are two letters
from nurse activists to the editor of the Boston Globe rebutting Peter’s
error. - SE)

April 24, 2001

The fact that more nurses in hospitals reduce the chances of adverse
patient outcomes (Study links care, nurse staff levels 4/24/01) is no
surprise to me. I have been a hospital bedside nurse for thirty-four years.
During that time, I have witnessed many changes. I believe that the current
status of our health care system has reduced nursing care to an all-time low.

I know how to give safe, quality care to my patients. Unfortunately,
when I have too many very sick patients at once, I cannot provide that level
of care. At work, I must prioritize what I do, giving more time to the
sickest patients and the most important treatments. It's a constant struggle
to get as much done as possible, without making serious mistakes. It's just
not possible to do everything that I should for my patients.
If we want to return quality to patient care, there must be realistic
limits on the number of patients assigned to any one nurse. Hospital
administrators, focused on the financial bottom line, have proven that they
cannot be trusted to provide enough nurses to meet patient care needs.
Therefore, the only reasonable solution is legislation that will set minimum
nurse to patient ratios.

Teana Gilinson, RN
Staff Nurse
Stoughton, MA

----------------------------------

As a patient, and a registered nurse, I was relieved to know it is "official"
once again; more registered nurses at the patient's bedside mean better
patient outcomes, safer patient care, and makes good business sense (Study
Links care, nurse staff levels, April 24th edition.)

Of course nurses have known this for decades. The previous findings of the
Institute of Medicine's report on the numbers of accidental patient deaths
were no surprise to the nation's nurses. Nor were the finding's of nursing
research done years ago which found patient's had lower incidents of post
operative pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and bed sores. All which
result in higher mortality rates and preventable astronomical health care
costs.

However, it seems no matter how often we validate good common sense with
scientific research, there are always those who rely on anecdotal "feelings."
Despite the volumes of accumulating evidence which support safer patient
care with higher nurse/patient ratios, Peter I. Bueurhaus (sic) of Vanderbilt
University (and co-author of this study) states, "I don't think [mandates]
are a solution."

Well, Mr. Bueurhaus (sic), I would bet my last dollar that tens of thousands
of registered nurses who have left clinical nursing practice across the U.S.
(and particularly those registered nurses still practicing bedside nursing in
Massachusetts) "think" otherwise. And they would support their position on
the necessity of legally mandated safe staffing levels with your own research
findings.

Barry L. Adams RN, BSN
Boston, MA

---------------------------

State Legislature's Joint Committee on Health Care Public Hearing
On House Bill 1186 - Safe Staffing Legislation

Monday, May 14th @ 12:00 noon
Western New England College. Springfield, MA
(note: hearing is in Springfield, NOT at the State House)

PLEASE WEAR YOUR SCRUBS!!!

Let's show the Legislature how important safe staffing is to nurses and the
patients you care for - please attend this hearing and show your support.

Please check the MNA website <http://www.massnurses.org> for more information.

Directions to Western New England College:

From the East and West (Boston, Albany) via the Massachusetts Turnpike
(I-90): Leave the Mass. Pike at Exit 6. Turn left onto I-291. Take Exit 5 off
I-291 ("Route 20-A West to East Springfield"). Bear right at the end of the
exit ramp on Page Bvld. Take the left at the first light onto Roosevelt Ave.
Take Roosevelt Avenue 2.5 miles to the intersection with Wilbraham Road
(fifth traffic light). Turn left onto Wilbraham Road and follow it 1.5 miles
to the main entrance of the campus.

From the North via Interstate 91:
Leave I-91 at Exit 8, ("Ludlow, Boston 1-291"). Travel to Exit 5B, ("East
Springfield"). Turn right off of the ramp onto Page Bvld. At the first
traffic light, turn left onto Roosevelt Ave. Take Roosevelt Avenue 2.5 miles
to the intersection with Wilbraham Road (fifth traffic light). Turn left onto
to Wilbraham Road and follow it 1.5 miles to the main entrance of the campus.

From the South via Interstate 91:
Leave I-91 at Exit 2, ("East Longmeadow"). Take the exit ramp following the
signs ("Route 83") to the light at the intersection of Longhill and Sumner
Ave. Travel straight on Sumner Ave. and Allen St. to the traffic light at the
intersection of Allen St. and Bradley Road (3.2 miles). Turn left onto
Bradley Road and travel 1.6 miles to Wilbraham Rd. and turn right. Travel 0.2
miles to the main entrance of the campus.

David Schildmeier
Director of Public Communications
Massachusetts Nurses Association
800-882-2056 x717 (Within Mass. only)
781-830-5717
781-821-444 (fax)
781-249-0430 (cell phone)
508-426-1655 (pager)

--------------------------------

Web Directory:

Sandy's Links
<http://users.rcn.com/bumps/sandy>
Massachusetts Nurses Association
<http://www.massnurses.org>
California Nurses Association
<http://www.califnurses.org>
Penn. Assoc. of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals
<http://www.calnurse.org/cna/peasant/index.html>
Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions
<http://www.nursesunions.ca>
Revolution Magazine <http://www.revolutionmag.com>
Massachusetts Labor Party
<http://www.masslaborparty.org>
Nurse Advocate <http://www.nurseadvocate.org>
UnionTalk4Nurses
<http://www.uniontalk4nurses.org>
Labor Notes
<http://www.labornotes.org>
Nurse Rebel
<http://www.geocities.com/nurse rebel/protest.htm>
Nurs